Black Christmas
by JacksonFrost
Summary: A Black Christmas always seemed more desirable than a White Christmas praised in those silly Muggle songs, at least to Bellatrix, Andromeda, Narcissa, Sirius, and Regulus Black. After all, their Christmases were simply majestic.
1. December 23

**Author's Note: **This is actually not for any challenge, surprisingly enough! There will be three chapters, one for each day the Black cousins are together. I'll try to finish the story before Christmas! Reviews are love :)

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**December 23**

A Black Christmas always seemed more desirable than a White Christmas praised in those silly Muggle songs, at least to Bellatrix, Andromeda, Narcissa, Sirius, and Regulus Black. After all, _their_ Christmases were simply majestic. Every December 23, Cygnus and Druella would take their three little girls- spunky and fiery Bellatrix, sweet and kind Andromeda, dainty and demure Narcissa- to Cygnus' sister's house. Walburga and her husband (and second cousin) Orion, along with their two boys- mischievous and joking Sirius, nervous and timid Regulus- would welcome their family for the next three days. On December 26, Cygnus and Druella would take their daughters and parcels of presents back home, but the three days in between were _always_ magical for the Black children.

This Christmas was the same, but a little different. Eleven year old Bellatrix was returning home from Hogwarts for Christmas vacation, and the rest of the cousins were regarding her with almost a reverential air- much to her delight.

When Cygnus and Druella appeared in the fireplace on the morning of December 23, Sirius and Regulus were anxiously waiting in the living room. "They're here!" screamed six year old Regulus, almost losing his head completely.

Walburga and Orion appeared and greeted the adults, leading them into the dining room for tea and conversation.

In the fireplace, Bellatrix was next to appear. She smiled coolly at the boys, who were practically jumping up and down upon seeing her, trying to appear worldly and sophisticated. She threw a "hello" over her shoulder as she made her way to the couch.

Andromeda suddenly appeared in the fireplace. At ten years old, she was trying to imitate her elder sister by putting on an air of disinterest, but as soon as she saw her cousins, she squealed and threw her arms around them.

Little Narcissa appeared next. She was only five years old, but she was already absurdly concerned with her looks, and as she stepped out of the fireplace, she was examining her hair for any flecks of ashes with a pained expression on her face.

Eight year old Sirius let out a roar of joy when he looked around the room. "We're all here!" he yelled.

Indeed, not since last Christmas had they been all together for more than an hour. Bellatrix sighed. "Well, what should we do, then?"

The cousins looked at each other. What _did_ they do every Christmas? Not much. Card castles and chess games and pretend-dueling and trying to bother the house-elves into telling them where their presents were. But as they looked at the unmistakable boredom already etched onto Bellatrix's face, they felt that somehow, that would not be enough this particular Christmas.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes impatiently. "Let's go look at the tapestry."

Sirius moaned with boredom- "Really, Bella? Mum makes us look at that every other day!"- but they followed her as she marched up the stairs.

"I hate the tapestry," Sirius muttered sullenly as they entered the parlor room, where the said tapestry hung proudly from the wall. "I don't know why we have to look at it."

"Just because you have the cultural appreciation of a gnat," Bella snapped sharply, "doesn't mean we all do."

Sirius fell silent with indignation, as Andromeda and Regalus snickered. Bellatrix ignored them all as she stood before the great tapestry and sighed with reverence.

"The Most Noble Ancient House of Black," she breathed, and turned to look at the others' reactions. Andromeda and Narcissa were staring blankly at the tapestry, while Sirius was shoving Regulus.

"You _guys!_" Bellatrix snapped. "Focus, or you'll never make it in Hogwarts."

Sirius was promptly subdued, and the others looked at the tapestry with a little more interest. Narcissa raised her hand.

Bellatrix smiled kindly at her. "Yes, Cissy?"

"Well," Narcissa babbled. "When I look at the tapestry, I always wonder who will be my husband." She giggled, and Andromeda and Sirius rolled their eyes rudely.

Bellatrix snorted. "Don't be an idiot, Cissy, you'll marry some rich, pureblood wizard. That's _not the point._" She sighed in exasperation. "If you went to Hogwarts, you'd understand what I'm talking about."

That had the effect she wanted. "Bella, tell us!" Andromeda squealed.

"Come on, Bella, please?" Sirius begged. "I promise to listen!"

Regulus and Narcissa joined in, pleading for Bellatrix to tell them what the fuss was about.

Bellatrix finally cracked a smile. "Fine. Now, do you see how big this tapestry is?"

Everyone nodded, their faces a display of rapt attention.

"Well, it's that big, because we, the Blacks, are one of the biggest pure-blood families ever! We're the best of the best. Does anyone know what our motto is?" Bellatrix raised her eyebrows, enjoying her role as school-teacher.

Andromeda shrugged. "Show no mercy?"

"No, idiot," Sirius said, pushing Andromeda. "It's Toujours Pur. Mum makes us recite it daily."

Bellatrix gave an approving nod, ignoring Andromeda. "Yes, it is Toujours Pur, and who knows what that means?"

Regulus raised his hand. "Always Pure."

"Yes, Reggie, good job," Bellatrix said warmly. "To keep our tapestry big, we must be always pure. That means, in Hogwarts, we don't associate with icky Mudbloods and we look down on the pathetic half-bloods."

Andromeda frowned slightly and Bellatrix turned on her in a flash. "What? Does that bother you?" she snapped harshly.

"No!" Andromeda protested, glancing nervously around her. "That's the truth, right?"

"Of course it is," Bellatrix said sternly. "It's the truth, and it's our law, and it must be followed. Otherwise, you're dishonoring the _entire Black family name_."

Narcissa and Regulus gasped in horror. Even Sirius' eyes widened slightly. Bellatrix smiled approvingly at their reaction before turning to Andromeda, who had a hint of a smirk on her face. Andromeda quickly adjusted her features to something more akin to shock and fear when she saw Bella's ferocious scowl.

Bellatrix sighed heavily. "Well, I hope that was a productive lesson to you all. I would hate for someone to be…" She paused dramatically and lapsed into a meaningful silence.

"What?" Narcissa asked eagerly. "You would hate for someone to be what?"

"Well," Bellatrix said slowly. "You know what happens when you dishonor the Black family name, right?"

Everyone shook their head solemnly, shooting confused glances at each other. "Will you tell us?" Regalus asked meekly.

Bellatrix smirked. "I guess." She ran her fingers across the tapestry, pausing when she reached a black mark. "This happens."

"Oh," Sirius said suddenly. "You're talking about the-"

"_As I was saying_," Bellatrix interrupted loudly and pointedly. "If you dishonor the family name, your entire name is…" She shook her head. "I probably shouldn't tell you."

"I'll tell them," Sirius said quickly, cutting across the disappointed groans of his cousins and brother. "Your name is-"

"No, you'll get it wrong," Bellatrix snapped. "I guess I can tell you guys. Your name is _burned off_."

Narcissa gasped loudly. "No!"

"Yes," Bellatrix said solemnly. "One minute you're a proud member of the Black family, and the next…." She shook her head woefully. "It's like you never existed."

The room fell into an uneasy silence. Even Sirius looked concerned. Bellatrix smiled happily at the effect of her story. "Well, I hope you all plan to honor the Black family name for _the rest of your lives_."

They all nodded earnestly.

"Well," Sirius said loudly, breaking the tension that had gathered in the room. "Shall we do something _fun _now?

Bellatrix looked irritated, but the others squealed in agreement.

"Can we go for a walk?" Andromeda asked, looking out at the snowy woods wistfully.

Narcissa moaned loudly. "It's all _wet_, Andy!"

"And it's cold," whined Regulus.

Andromeda narrowed her eyes. "Bella got to choose what we did first, and I'm the next oldest, and I say we're taking a bloody walk!"

Sirius exchanged a glance with Bellatrix. "Fine," he said with a long-suffering tone. "If it means so much to you, we'll go on a walk."

Bellatrix smirked at Andromeda. "You're lucky I feel like some fresh air." She laughed at Andromeda's frown and almost skipped out of the room.

"Even if you didn't, we'd still be going!" yelled Andromeda after her.

Even Narcissa rolled her eyes at that. Andromeda flushed and trudged after her laughing cousins and sisters. She shivered as soon as she stepped outside, but smiled widely, taking in the beautiful, pristine blanket of snow covering the acres of land. Then a snowball hit her squarely in the face.

"Sirius!" Andromeda sputtered, wiping the icy snow from her eyes. "I hate you!"

Sirius laughed delightedly. "Snowball fight!" he roared, already forming another snowball.

Regulus and Bellatrix joined in with excitement, laughing manically. Narcissa, after an initial squeal of displeasure, began to hurl snowballs blindly towards her cousins and sisters. Andromeda ducked as an onslaught of snowballs came flying towards her.

"You guys!" she whined. "I said we were going on a walk!"

Sirius paused, rolling his eyes at the others, who were gleefully ignoring Andromeda. "We're outside, don't get greedy, Andy!" He paused as a snowball whizzed by his ear. "And I'm the oldest after you, and I say we're having a bloody snowball fight!" He smirked at his imitation of her, and reentered the fight.

Sighing, Andromeda formed a perfect snowball and hurled it angrily at Bellatrix. She heard a muffled "Ow!", and laughed. Her laugh suddenly turned into a gasp, however, as a stream of snowballs hit her. Andromeda ducked, but any snowballs she missed veered towards her and pelted her repeatedly.

"Bella!" shrieked Andromeda. "You've enchanted the snowballs!"

Bella cackled manically. "I don't know what you're talking about!" she sang, watching happily as another storm of snowballs flew towards Sirius and began pelting him.

"Underage magic!" roared Sirius angrily, covering his head in a vain attempt to shield himself from the snowballs. "Unfair!"

"It's perfectly fair, Siri," Bellatrix said, neatly dodging a handful of snow Andromeda had tried throwing at her. "And they won't be able to tell I was the one who did magic since we're living with of-age wizards and witches!" She laughed as the snowballs began to reform in midair and started chasing Narcissa. "And besides, I'm a Black. They wouldn't dare punish me!"

Andromeda let out a wail of indignation. "Bella, play fair!"

"But what's the fun in that?" Bella teased, laughing.

"At least teach me how to do it!" Sirius begged, watching with obvious delight as Regalus run in a circle, trying to escape a particularly determined snowball.

"No, Siri," Bellatrix smirked mockingly. "You're not eleven yet, are you?"

Before he could respond, the door flung open and Cygnus appeared. The snowballs quickly dropped to the ground. Cygnus' eyes narrowed dangerously. "What is going on here?" he hissed, staring at Bellatrix.

"Nothing, Daddy," she said sweetly, discreetly tucking her wand into her robes. "We're just having a little snowball fight."

"You're behaving like common Muggles!" Cygnus whispered furiously, his face a pulsing purple at the strain of keeping his voice down outside. "Get inside! You're going to bed."

Bella, Sirius, Andy, Cissy, and Regulus reluctantly began to file inside, Sirius sticking his tongue out at Bellatrix as he passed her. Andromeda rolled her eyes and mouthed _I told you so_ at Sirius, who just laughed dismissively.

They stopped at the foot of the stairs, each ready to head to their separate rooms. "We could have stayed up for _hours_ longer, if we had just taken a walk like I said," Andromeda grumbled.

Sirius grinned cheekily at her. "Well, there's always tomorrow!"

"I love Christmastime!" Narcissa cheered. The others scoffed at her as they each marched to their rooms, but in each of their minds was the thought: _I can't wait until tomorrow._


	2. December 24

**December 24**

A punch in the arm jarred Sirius from his dream of soaring on a broomstick, scoring goal after goal in Quidditch. He refused to open his eyes. "Go away, Regs," he moaned, rolling over.

He received a harder punch. "It's not Regulus, idiot. And I'm freezing, give me a cover."

Sirius reluctantly opened one eye. "Andy, why are you in my bed?"

"Merlin, you're greedy with the covers. Move over. I can't sleep."

"Well, I'm not having a problem sleeping, so maybe you should go find someone who can relate?" Sirius said, yawning loudly.

Andromeda nestled into the covers. "No. I wanted to talk to you."

"'Bout what?"

Andromeda hesitated. "Remember talking about the tapestry yesterday? Do you really believe that?"

Sirius frowned, giving up on sleep. "Believe what? Trust me, they do burn your name off if you do something bad. But don't worry, it won't happen to you."

"Or you," Andromeda added instantly. "But not that…just…about the 'something bad' part. Do you agree with that?"

Sirius looked at her blankly. "What are you talking about?"

Andromeda sighed. "The whole pureblood supremacy thing? The whole idea that consorting with Mudbloods is enough to disown you from the Black family?"

Sirius snorted. "That's it? Yeah, it's rubbish."

Andromeda exhaled. "I was nervous about telling you, I didn't know how you'd react. I can't tell this to Bella, she'd murder me, and Cissy wouldn't understand _and_ would tell Bella. But Siri, I don't think Mudbloods are that bad. And I don't think I'm the best because of my blood or last name. Does that make me odd?"

"The oddest," Sirius teased. "But I guess I'm odd too then. Don't worry, Andy. Our parents are just old-fashioned and they tried to pass on all that rubbish to us. I guess we're the only ones smart enough to not believe it."

Andromeda smiled. "I guess so. This is just between us though, right?"

"Of course," Sirius rolled his eyes. "Like I'm about to go tell Bellatrix that we don't believe in the pureblood beliefs."

"Right, what a horrible idea that would be!" Andromeda laughed.

"Are you both in here?" Bella whispered from the doorway, before leaping on the bed with Andromeda and Sirius. "And what's a horrible idea?"

"Waking our parents up tomorrow morning to open presents. Like the Muggles do," Sirius said smoothly.

Bellatrix snorted. "That is a horrible idea. But who could expect anything less from the Muggles?"

Sirius winked at Andromeda over Bella's head. "I dunno. But I can't wait for tomorrow."

"I wonder what Mum and Father got me," Andromeda mused thoughtfully. "I'm sure you got a broom, Bella."

Bella's face lit up. "I better have gotten one. Won't you be jealous, when I'm flying around on my brand new broomstick, while you're stuck on the ground?"

Andromeda rolled her eyes. "I won't be jealous when you crash and break a few bones because of your ineptitude."

Bellatrix snorted while Sirius laughed. "Don't be jealous because I'm a first-year, and you sadly are not."

Andromeda glared, but before she could respond, Narcissa and Regulus had jumped in the bed, laughing.

"It's Christmas Eve," squealed Narcissa.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes and muttered something about that being obvious, and Andromeda shoved her. "Want to go downstairs for breakfast?" she asked the group at large.

Several protesting moans came from underneath the covers of Sirius' large bed. Andromeda giggled and snuggled in with her cousins and sisters. For a moment, the silence was blissful and comforting, and then the door slammed open.

"What in Slytherin's name are you lot doing in bed together?" Walburga snapped. "That's disgusting and improper and I am ashamed! You should all know better! Get out of bed _this instant,_" she snarled, turning on her heel after a final dirty look.

Sirius sighed. "Happy Christmas Eve."

Bellatrix patted his head. "Stop being disgusting, Siri, and maybe your mum wouldn't be such a hag." She smirked and jumped out of the bed.

The rest reluctantly climbed out, and they trooped downstairs for breakfast. It had been picked over, and Walburga had clearly forbidden the house-elves to replenish the food, as they were skulking in the corners, eying the half-empty platters miserably. The children sighed, but set to filling their plates.

There was only one more apple turnover, however, and Sirius and Bellatrix both grabbed for it at the same time.

"Give it to me, _Bella_," Sirius said, narrowing his eyes.

Bellatrix smirked. "No, Siri, I'm the eldest, aren't I?" She grabbed for it again, but Sirius batted her hand away and grinned.

"Duel you for it," he said cockily, dropping into the standard dueling position.

Bellatrix's eyes lit up, but she shook her head. "With what wand? You don't have one, idiot."

Andromeda bit her lip- previous Christmases had been abundant with duels, but never with wands- but Sirius thought for a second, and ran out of the room, ignoring Regulus' groan. He returned in a moment, clutching a wand that seemed much too large for him.

"Your father's wand?" Bellatrix asked in a hushed tone.

Sirius grinned. "He had a _bit _too much to drink last night. He won't even notice. Unless, of course, you're scared." He smirked at her tauntingly.

Bella shook her head, a small smile playing on the corner of her lips. "No," she said, falling into the dueling position. "But _you _should be."

She shouted a spell, and Andromeda gasped and dragged Narcissa and Regulus to a safe watching distance. Sirius dodged the spell expertly, and yelled out another one. The room was filled with flashes of red light and Bellatrix was laughing and dancing around Sirius' spells. It was a dance, perfectly synchronized, as they both dodged the spells and fired off new ones, and they seemed perfectly matched, two dark heads held high, two sets of dark eyes glittering.

Then Sirius tried a more advanced spell, which he had pinched from Bellatrix's spell book. The wand backfired on him, and he landed on the floor with a yell. Bellatrix smirked and pocketed her wand, leaning over to give Sirius a hand. He accepted it, reluctantly, and silently handed Bellatrix the apple turnover.

She bit into it, smiling toothily. "Delicious," she proclaimed.

Sirius rolled his eyes at her and muttered something about how _some_ people had an unfair advantage and it really wasn't a victory if you weren't on even footing.

They fell into pointless bickering, as usual, and Andromeda rolled her eyes fondly about how alike they really were. Not that she would ever tell them that, as she had no desire to be simultaneously hexed and yelled at.

The day dragged on, a blur of snowball fights and whispered excitement for the next morning and pranks. It was a wonderful Christmas Eve, Andromeda thought sleepily, as it neared to a close and all that was left was a roaring fire and a couple of half-empty cups of hot cocoa, but it was unmistakably different than last year. Bellatrix was a little wilder, a little more dangerous, a little less gentle, and she seemed to constantly be at odds with Sirius. There were less hugs and genuine smiles, and more mean-spirited jokes and violent pranks. But, as Andromeda decided firmly, they were Blacks, and they were all growing up, and this was to be expected. Besides, she thought stubbornly as she drifted off to sleep, cuddled with Narcissa, tomorrow was Christmas morning, and there was no darkness allowed on Christmas morning. Even _Bella_ knew _that_.


	3. December 25

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry for being unable to post this chapter yesterday, and actually finishing this story by Christmas! Real life interfered :). Anyway, I hope you like this, and thank you for reading this little Christmas gift to myself (I love the Black kiddies!). Please review! :D

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**December 25**

There hadn't been a plan on how to start Christmas morning, but each of the Black cousins found themselves conjugated in Sirius' room, at the ungodly hour of seven.

A chorus of "Happy Christmas!" was heard when they started trickling into the room, with even Bellatrix giving an impromptu hug to Regulus and Narcissa.

They weren't allowed to come downstairs until their parents said, so it was a long wait of fidgeting, speculating, and a rather rough pillow fight.

Bellatrix was particularly rough during the pillow fight, slamming a pillow against Sirius until it exploded into feathers.

"Merlin, _Bella_, keep this up and you'll get a lump of coal for Christmas," Sirius taunted, dancing around her with a pillow raised high.

She frowned. "Coal?"

Andromeda laughed. "It's a Muggle thing. Naughty children get coal, good children get presents."

Bellatrix smirked. "Sorry, I'm not up-to-date on Muggle traditions." Her eyes narrowed dangerously, clearly wondering why they were.

Sirius decided to distract her by whacking her with a pillow repeatedly. Bellatrix gasped and grabbed another pillow and soon there was a flurry of feathers in the air.

Unfortunately, it was at that moment when Walburga Black opened the door. She looked at the feathers and made a horrible face. "You're behaving like filthy Mudbloods," she snapped, summoning a house-elf to clean the mess. "Get dressed and come downstairs for breakfast."

A little while later, Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa were in elaborate dresses and Sirius and Regulus were in overly starched suits. They miserably (with the exception of Narcissa, who preened and pranced in her dress) walked over to the breakfast table. The next hour was spent sipping tea, taking tiny bites of unrecognizable delicacies, and kicking each other silently under the table. At one point, Sirius almost knocked over his cup of tea, but an imperceptible movement from Bellatrix quickly settled the cup and earned a look of deep gratitude from Sirius.

Finally, _finally_, after what seemed like a thousand years, the children were allowed to calmly stroll over to the towering Christmas tree. Presents were neatly wrapped in silver paper and green bows, and were stacked incredibly high.

All of the children's eyes lit up at the sight, and a flick of Walburga's and Druella's wand sent the presents floating over to each child.

Bellatrix got her broom, shiny and _fast_. Andromeda received a gleaming spell book and a pointed look from Cygnus, telling her that she ought to practice before she leaves for Hogwarts, in order to not disgrace the family name. Sirius tore open a portrait of Salazar Slytherin and glared at his mother, who gave him an icy smirk in return. Regulus opened a Wizard chess set, much to Sirius' envy. Narcissa gingerly unwrapped a new set of dress robes, and allowed herself a small squeal of joy.

After the adults had tired of the children, they took _their_ presents of mulled wine and goblin-made silver and retired to the dining room, leaving behind a much more relaxed environment.

The children grinned at each other and pulled out their own presents, shoddily wrapped, to give to one another. These presents were far more fun and much more personal. Sirius' good temper was restored as he opened games of Exploding Snap and boxes of Chocolate Frogs. Bellatrix actually hugged Sirius when she opened her present of a book of advanced spells and a scrawled note (_I have a book of this myself. Next Christmas, be ready.)_.

Soon, wrapping paper was scattered around them and candy wrappers were strewn across the floor. The cousins lay by the fire, aimlessly playing with their new presents, sprawled against each other. The next morning, Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa would be leaving, back to their home and away from the childish magic of Christmas, but for now, they were all together, and each of them relished in that fact- something they would never admit out loud.

Narcissa was the one to break the comfortable silence. "Will it be like this forever?"

There was a brief pause. "What?" Bellatrix asked, rather snappishly.

"Christmases," Narcissa clarified. "Will they always be like this?"

Andromeda bit her lip, mentally comparing their relationship with the cool, impersonal relationship of her parents and aunt and uncle. "I hope so, Cissy."

"It will be," Sirius said lazily. "Ten years from now, we'll still be here and making our parents' lives miserable."

"Speak for yourself," Bellatrix said, somewhat fondly. "But yes, Cissy, I don't imagine that things will change so much that we won't spend _Christmas_ together."

"I love Christmas," Regulus piped up. "And it wouldn't be the same without you lot."

Andromeda smiled at him. "I agree. So. We agree? Every Christmas stays like this?"

There was a chorus of assertions and a few spontaneous hugs. It was Christmas, and while it may not have been as warm and loving as those Christmases one sees on television, it still had the particular Black family charm. And that charm was enough to satisfy Bellatrix, Andromeda, Narcissa, Regulus, and even Sirius, at least for today. Black Christmases were wonderful, majestic, and simply amazing. All the Blacks secretly hoped for a thousand more just like this one, and they were sure that they would get their wish, because after all, since when do Blacks not get what they want?


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